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(l-r) Master Sgt. Shawn Elmandorf, orthopedic technician, Lt. Col Evan Jones, orthopedic doctor and Capt. Michael Hawkinson, orthopedic resident, perform a bi-lateral carpal tunnel release surgery June 8, at Rio San Juan hospital, Dominican Republic, during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise or MEDRETE as part of NEW HORIZONS 2016. The MEDRETE is an exercise where U.S. military doctors and technicians partnered with medical professionals from the Dominican Republic, and practiced their craft in an expeditionary environment. Elmandorf and Hawkinson are deployed from the 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chenzira Mallory/released)

The tenth and final Medical Readiness Training Exercise or MEDRETE rotation provided care to more than 420 patients and performed 26 specialized orthopedic surgical procedures at the Rio San Juan hospital in the Dominican Republic. The team comprised of medical professionals and residents from the 59th Medical Wing at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chenzira Mallory/released)

Master Sgt. Shawn Elmandorf, 506th Expeditionary Medical Operations orthopedic technician, prepares tools for a surgery, during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise or MEDRETE, June 8, at Rio San Juan hospital, Dominican Republic. The MEDRETE, which is part of the Exercise NEW HORIZONS 2016, provides an opportunity for U.S. military doctors and technicians to practice their craft in a deployed environment. Elmandorf is deployed from the 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chenzira Mallory/released)

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas , June 17, 2016 —
Airmen from the 59th Medical Wing are improving their clinical skills and building international relationships during a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored readiness training exercise in the Dominican Republic.

New Horizons 2016, which kicked off in April, brings together U.S. military civil engineers and medical professionals who conduct readiness training exercises by delivering health care services to local communities. Civil engineers are building four clinics and one school during the exercise.

Relationships built during New Horizons 2016 will benefit both countries.

The three-month exercise is enhancing the medical readiness of the 59th MDW, said Col. Glenn Yap, 59th Medical Wing vice commander and the medical mission commander.

“It is very exciting and it’s been a great experience. Our warrior medics are treating a large number of patients, including many who would normally not have access to medical care,” Yap said.

Thirty 59th MDW medics are in the Dominican Republic to support the command cell, the ambulance crew and are leading four of the 10 rotational medical/surgical teams who train in country for two-week periods. The 10 rotational teams are comprised of between 15-42 medical and dental professionals from other AF, Army and Canadian medical facilities, both active duty and guard/reserve.

“(The exercise) gives our medical teams a chance to practice their clinical skills in a different environment. This helps them sharpen their skills in preparation for worldwide deployments,” Yap explained.

The wing is also participating in a medical exchange, connecting subject matter experts from each country in pediatric nutrition and public health.

“Some techniques we use in the U.S. are incompatible with the severity of the disease processes we find overseas, and the physicians from the Dominican Republic have more experience dealing with those advanced disease processes,” said Townley. “They are also (accustomed) with working with fewer resources than we were.”

Working with colleagues across many different medical specialties and bringing together military members from across the U.S. allowed the teams to perform a common goal: good medicine in an unfamiliar location, he added.

“I learned the importance of good logistics and fostering a close working relationship with the host nation. There were many times it was necessary to work intimately with the host nation's government and physicians to ensure our essential supplies arrived in time for us to perform our mission,” said Townley. “Without everyone's combined efforts, the mission would have been a failure.”